Week 6 was an exciting one for ACC football. Here’s a list of five takeaways from last weekend’s action on the gridiron.
5. Virginia Tech is the team to beat in the ACC Coastal Division.
Yes, I know I said last week that North Carolina was the team to beat, but the Hokies proved me wrong by thumping the Tar Heels 34-3.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that UNC lost this contest because of the poor weather. Sure, that argument seems logical, considering that Virginia Tech scored all of its points off turnovers.
However, even in ideal conditions, Virginia Tech would have won the game because the Tar Heel defense could not keep the Hokie offense off the field. Tech held the ball for 39 minutes and 59 seconds, and went an impressive 8 for 20 on third down. Even if the UNC offense were firing on all cylinders, it still would have spent the majority of the afternoon on the sideline, because the defense couldn’t come up with a stop.
In other words, the Hokies deserve all of the credit for the victory.
This “W” coupled with a few other events from the weekend, makes them the favorite to capture the Coastal Division crown for the first time since 2011.
4. Miami isn’t “The U” yet, but it will be soon.
Although the Hurricanes didn’t win on Saturday, it’s clear that the program is much better under the leadership of Mark Richt (can you say that, Georgia?). After all, Miami was the better team for most of the first half, jumping out to a 13-0 lead before Deondre Francois rallied the Seminoles to a come-from-behind-victory.
Yet, what stands out the most about this effort is the way Miami came up with a big play when it needed it down the stretch. Whether it was Braxton Barrios on a long punt return or Brad Kaaya throwing a perfect pass on fourth-and-five, the ‘Canes delivered when the game was on the line. That’s exactly what the UM championship teams of seasons past would do… minus the blocked PAT, of course.
So while the Hurricanes didn’t snap their six-game losing streak to Florida State, they definitely proved that they’re going to contend for the ACC title in the very near future. That’s a noticeable improvement from the Al Golden era.
3. Georgia Tech will have a tough decision to make at the end of the season
That’s not to suggest that the Yellow Jackets won’t go to a bowl game this season. They will. However, unless Tech pulls off an upset or two, it is looking at a 7-5 or 6-6 record this fall.
Will that be enough to save Paul Johnson’s job?
It’s tough to say. On the one hand, he did guide Georgia Tech to four appearances in the ACC Championship game, including an outstanding 11-3 season in 2014. However, his teams are just 6-12 since then, and 2-7 in games decided by eight points or less.
The last sentence leaves the Tech brass with a tough decision to make. Does it give Johnson another season to turn the Jackets into a perennial 10-game winner or should it make a leadership change? While it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that the stellar 2014 campaign would buy him another year, it’s important to note that Tech fired Chan Gailey even though he never had a losing season overall or in conference play. Given that Johnson is 2-10 in ACC tilts over the last two seasons, he could certainly use all of the “W’s” that he can get.
It’ll be interesting to watch this story unfold.
2. Deondre Francois is the toughest quarterback in the league
This is the most obvious takeaway of the weekend. Despite taking a number of big hits throughout the course of the game, Francois still managed to rally the Seminoles back from a two-touchdown deficit.
Make no mistake about it: this was an awesome performance by Francois. Instead of wilting under the pressure, he took his game to another level. After leaving the contest briefly due to injury, Francois led Florida State on a 62-yard drive to get the ‘Noles on the scoreboard just before halftime. In the third quarter, he completed 9 of his first 10 passes to help FSU score two touchdowns to retake the lead. His pinpoint passing opened up the running game for Dalvin Cook, allowing the Seminoles to add a field goal early in the fourth quarter, which ended up being the difference in the game.
That type of mental toughness is something that even professional quarterbacks struggle with these days. Expect to see big things from Francois in the future.
1. The Coastal Division champion will have trouble getting into the College Football Playoff even with a win over undefeated Clemson
That’s not a knock on the Coastal, which is one of the deepest divisions in college football. But, the fact remains that the team that wins the division will struggle to make the College Football Playoff after this weekend’s events.
For starters, five teams in the Coastal already have two losses. Whether we like or not, they’re essentially eliminated from contention.
That leaves only Virginia Tech and Miami as viable candidates to make the field. Both face very long odds.
The Hokies’ chances of qualifying for the College Football Playoff certainly took a huge hit with Tennessee losing to Texas A&M. If the Vols should lose to Alabama this weekend as expected, there would be nothing to stop the Selection Committee from placing two teams from the SEC West in the field over Virginia Tech, especially if the Tide were to win big.
Miami is in the same boat with its loss to Florida State. Sure, the ‘Canes could still run the table, but their weak non-conference schedule has them in jeopardy of missing the playoff. Even if – and it’s a big if – the Selection Committee didn’t punish UM for its soft non-league slate, the Hurricanes would only have two wins against ranked opponents if they were to win out. If the committee factors in strength of schedule and/or records versus common opponents as its supposed to, it could choose to select someone other than Miami to fill out the bracket… such as Louisville, which throttled Florida State and narrowly lost to Clemson.
Please note, I am not saying that any of these decisions would be right. I’m just saying that they could very easily happen.
